Book Description
From a distinctive and powerful new voice, here is a novel of rare beauty and extraordinary accomplishment. Set at the turn of the century in the fictional Persian village of Omerijan, Persian Brides tells the magical story of two young girls--Flora and Nazie Ratoryan--and their many neighbors in the almond tree alley in Omerijan where they live. Fifteen-years-old, pregnant, and recently abandoned by her cloth-merchant husband, Flora longs desperately for the return of her unborn baby's father. Nazie consoles and pities her, and though she is still only a child of eleven, she yearns--just as desperately--for her own future marriage. Although the narrative spans only two days, it branches out and back, encompassing the lives and histories of many of Omerijan's inhabitants. A blend of fantasy and reality, the narrative forcefully conveys shocking cruelties endured by many of the characters while at the same time weaving a modern-day Arabic legend where snakes offer jewels in exchange for milk and death is thwarted by appeasing the village demons. Written with passion and elegance, Persian Brides brings a rich array of characters to life - telling of their hardships without ever losing the magic and wonder that is so much a part of the lives.
Customer Reviews:
WONDERFUL.......2006-04-15
A great novel. I could not put it down from start to finish. Funny, sexy, sharp with images and characters that were painfuly exact. I come from an Iranian Jewish family and lived there until I was three - it simply felt real: full of the all love and all the hate. Just wonderful.
Blah blah blah.......2005-01-18
This book was OK.. I didn't finish it. I got about halfway through. It doesn't have much of a plot and any plot it does have, does not move anywhere.
I lost track of characters names and after a while it just became uninteresting.
Its disappointing because the culture and the people is something I wanted to read about, but unfortunately this book does not present a plot! So that pretty much rules it out.
Sensationalism.......2004-07-27
My Father grew up in a small village in Persia during the same period that this book was supposed to be depicting. I can say with authority that the author is not very familiar with Iranian culture or sentiment.
Myths, curses, and neighborhood feuds personify this tale!.......2002-08-07
In a milieu where women's realms are very much relegated to the household and the children, it's easy to see where the world becomes very small and horizons don't extend much past the immediate environs. Miriam Hanoum's queendom is inhabited by nosey neighbors upon whom she is always wishing various plagues and ills because of past or anticipated injuries.
Miriam's daughter Flora is both her pride and her personal bane. She is pretty, spoiled, disobedient...and pregnant by a ne'er do well husband who has "skipped town". Nazie is the story's Cinderella, orphaned by Miriam's in-laws. Nazie is both servant and poor relative who is charitably taken in and becomes the family's obligation.
Lowly though her station she pines for marriage, a woman's natural role. However, her diminutive size, very young age and lack of menses make her ineligible. Moussa, the Hanoum's only son, will be her eventual spouse when proof can be established that she is physically ready, in other words can bear children.
The plot to this story is very thin. It is the cultural aspects and the humourous ways in which they are related that make it readable. Because it is a translation, the reader also wonders what's missing. What is it that I don't understand about time, place, culture and traditions that would give me more of a framework for additional appreciation?
The most enjoyable part of the novel comes at its very end, when poor, pregnant, bloated Flora goes in search of her smelly, ignorant, yet very wily groom. Dragging her heavy body to a seaside town where they honeymooned, Flora finds her husband...married to another woman! His excuses are very entertaining and even poor, non-too-bright Flora, "catches on" that she's been bamboozled.
All told, entertaining but sometimes hard to follow.
Another Land, Another Time.......2002-07-09
"Persian Brides' is the first novel by Israeli-born Dorit Rabinyan. Rabinyan was only 21 at the time that she wrote the book. The novel won the 1999 JEWISH QUARTERLY Wingate Literary Award.
"Persian Brides" takes the reader to a fictional Persian village in the early 1900's. The story focuses on 15 year old Flora, her 11 year old cousin Nazie, and their family, the Hanoums. Flora, is a headstrong girl, with perhaps a bit too much vanity. She rejects many suitors that come to her family proposing marriage. Nazie, who is treated like a servant by her aunt (Flora's mother), sees all this activity and longs to be married herself. The novel is full of culture and folklore and it was very interesting to read about the traditions and rituals that the family followed. The writing was beautiful and full of great imagery. I feel that the book would have been better with a touch more character and plot development. We read this book in my book group and there were mixed feelings on it. Some people didn't like it at all due to the limited plot and others enjoyed the writing and the magical imagery. I personally, love reading about other cultures and their traditions, folklore, superstitions and beliefs, so I found that aspect of this book very satisfying. One example of an interesting tradition in Flora's village is that mothers shout from the rooftop to let the neighborhood know when their daughter has their first menstruation. Flora's mother also performs nighttime inspections of Flora to be sure that she is still `pure'. Can you imagine?! And you thought your mother was bad! The novel will make you smile at some of the other traditions and superstitions that Flora and her family live by.
Amazon.com
Luminous, exotic, terrifying, and brutal, The Persian Bride is a complex and worldly revelation, a story that, like the river that runs through the city of Isfahan, "carries on its surface traces of an earlier existence, and may indeed exist to submerge them, like the plane leaves it carries down in autumn or the pieces of its burst spring dwelling." In 1974, 18-year-old John Pitt arrives in Iran. By turns violent and introspective, James Buchan's narrator is "a mere instrument of change in a situation made brittle by violence, treachery and the veil." The chador is in Islamic society a barrier both physical and literal, shielding women from the transgressive male gaze. When John crosses that barrier by falling desperately in love with and marrying Shirin Farameh, the daughter of a general in the Iranian air force, all the forces of history descend upon him.
In his sixth novel, Buchan coaxes forth shadows--political, personal, spiritual--to engulf both narrator and reader. Past and present, reality and illusion, form the warp and weft of a story as intricately woven as the Persian rugs on which Shirin treads (an obvious, but accurate, metaphor). Buchan was a foreign correspondent for 10 years, so it isn't surprising that he should offer so solid a portrait of a world on the brink. What is surprising, and infinitely rewarding, is the bittersweet poignancy with which he brings that world to brilliant and supple life. --Kelly Flynn
Book Description
At once a great love story, a riveting political thriller, and a profound analysis of modern Iran, THE PERSIAN BRIDE is unflinching in its vision of twentieth-century chaos. In 1974, the young Englishman John Pitt follows the hippie trail to Isfahan, where he encounters the enchanting Shirin Farameh. These two young people fall desperately in love and marry, despite their cultural differences and the political upheaval surrounding them. When they are tragically separated, John sets off in search of his wife on a nightmare journey that takes him from the corrupt court of the shah to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Customer Reviews:
Graceful, luminous page-turner.......2006-12-18
The conservative British magazine The Spectator described this novel as "A book of astonishing intellectual grandeur and integrity... Airy, graceful, and big with truth, it feels like a major statement of confidence, not just by an English novelist but by the English novel... There is really no word for it but 'masterpiece.'"
Exactly.
The story follows John Pitt, an 18-year-old drifter who is teaching in Isfahan, Iran, in 1974. He falls in love with Shirin, a 16-year-old girl, whose father happens to be an ambitious general in the Shah's air force. After they elope -- with the help of an opium-addicted Russian diplomat -- they spend a luminous year together in the Russian's walled villa on the sea. When they attempt to escape Iran, they are separated by vicious drug smugglers. The last half of the book follows John as he survives years and torture in revolutionary prisons, fights Iraq alongside boys and old men as an Iranian soldier, travels to Kashmir and Afghanistan, all searching for Shirin and his daughter.
That plot evidently makes it a "thriller" for some of the British press reviewers, but most Americans will agree that James Buchan's writing makes it something other. This book is rather a layered, graceful puzzle.
The first part of the book, John and Shirin's love story, is dreamlike. John at one point acknowleges that he's risking their lives by not getting them back to Europe. His judgment is that of an immature 18-year-old lovestruck dreamer -- which is what he is.
Here they are fleeing to the villa:
"In my arms, she fluttered with exciement and fear. Then she vanished. I stared miserably into the darkness. On the road, eighteen-wheelers roared and hooted. The moon rose to my right. My head jangled with the day. Her face and lips, the way she carried the can and tipped the water in the radiator, the trailing of her chador, lost their clarity, became mangled, rough and indecent. I smelled her scent, of salt and roses and some quintessential herness, on my chest and fingers. I felt drenched in femininity. Certain words -- 'pushidegi' covering, and by extension the mental attitudes in girls that are the effects or counterparts of veiling, such as ambiguity, inversion, concealment, intrigue or deceit; 'eish' meaning the delights of this worldly existence; 'kamrani,' the attainment of a young man's desire -- made maddening calligraphic shapes in my mind. I was depressed by missed opportunities: that we could have slept together one more time and still have reached here in the night. I thought: If we make it to the house, I am not going to stir from her bed for a year."
Perhaps a year later, here is Shirin:
"You do not think very much, John. I suppose it is not necessary for an Englishman to think, any more than it is necessary for an Englishman to pray. For that reason, your servant must think and pray not just for her poor self, but for the entire family. Our life in this garden cannot go on forever. We will be separated, or some other misfortune will befall us. Your servant is a mere woman. When you order me to kiss you, I obey, and the pleasure it gives me arises chiefly but not exclusively in my obedience. For I belieive and hope that out of those kisses you might remember one kiss. Or you might remember this doorway, the rustle of my skirt and chador, the taste of fresh herbs and buttermilk from a cold steel cup, the warmth of my bust and neck in the morning, the scent of roses from the orchard, the damp of my lap. Each one is a thread that ties us -- or rather, though these threads must snap under ther ressure of separation yet still there will be one intact -- and you will coil it up around your wrist and make your way back to your poor bride and wretched child."
It mustn't be imagined from this that Shirin is painted as anything but the stronger of the two. When they first arrive at the villa, she is the one who kills the snakes, bare-handed, that infest the place. Later, in a parallel, she staves off the double-crossing drug smugglers, protecting herself and her baby alone.
Here she warns John not to try to take their baby from her:
She spoke with the slowness of a nightmare. She said: "Mr Pitt, if you intend to take my Layly from me,, you shall first have to kill me. For otherwise I shall kill you."
"I have asked you before, ma'am, not to threaten me."
"It is not a threat, but the only solution to this difficulty."
Buchan gracefully shows us life's beauty and terror, but he weaves through magic, archetypal Iranian stories, poetry and politics as well.
Here, in Kashmir, he's talking with a student:
"Look, I've been there and you haven't. And to Iran as well. You must understand that the Iranian Revolution was not the beginning of something, but the end; not a revival of political Islam but its swansong. The effect of the Revolution has not been to revive religion in Iran but to make it hateful to all but the portion of the population that has a material interest in it, that gets its bread and water from the mosque. Without the war, the revolution would have lost its vigour long ago and its power to persuade. It survives only through control exercised on the minds of the living by the blood of young men and children who went singing to their deaths. Two hundred thousand boys died to prove that Islam could not be exported evwen to Iraq, home of one of history's most tyrannical despotisms."
I was surpirsed by my speechifying.
"Javed, you say that you want freedom, but it is not freedom you want but control. You and your friends want to close the hotels and the cinemas..."
"Yes. Life here is immoral. There are illicit liaisons..."
"Rubbish, Javed. Kashmiri girls are very chaste."
He trembled. I could see I had gone too far, for he hated his inexperience and I had made fun of it....
Buchan brings his hero's journey back to Isfahan, as heroes must return to their beginnings. Does he find his family? Buchan ends the book in exactly the right way to complete his character.
A verse from the end:
Luck and Joy and Grief and I
Set off together into the world of existence
Luck lay down and Joy ran off
But Grief and I go wandering on.
hauntingly beautiful.......2006-01-10
I enjoyed this book as I have few others. Mr. Buchan evokes Hemingway's Farewell to Arms and Orwell's 1984 (as one might expect in a tome addressing revolutionary Iran). The characters are compelling, the drama intense, and the prose gorgeous. Scattered throughout the book are references to Persian and Islamic thought and poetry that evoke the best of the Eastern canon and thought. The book treats these subjects with respect, and juxtaposes the beauty of Iranian history and culture with the fanatacism predominating after the revolution effectively. Several reviewers have complained that the book is difficult to follow---this is not sixth grade lit, to be sure, but the style is very well done and the occasionally disjointed narrative is a compelling literary device that keeps the suspense animated. In short, this book deserves all of the praise it has received, and is a rare, lovely effort that is to be savored. I highly recommend it.
Unforgettable.......2005-04-01
I am still affected by the harsh beauty and exquisite tragedy of the "Persian Bride." James Buchan's writing is wonderfully elegiac and moving. As a story, "The Persian Bride" comprises a bittersweet tale of a hastily contracted cross-cultural "marriage" made under the tensions of imminent revolution. Happy go-lucky John Pitt, a sweet unfocused Englishman bums his way through Isfahan as an English language teacher of dubious merit during the 70's. When he meets Shirin, an Iranian schoolgirl from Isfahan's ruling elite, he appears to meet his destiny. He is a romantic, unreasonable eighteen year old and an orphan. As such, he is not prepared to take on a Persian bride of royal blood.
He is also far too young to realize it. "Pitt" takes Shirin away from her attenuated family, hoping to leave the country. This proves difficult since not only is the Persian Bride's father a calculating Iranian general aiming to fill the imminent power vacuum, but other loftier persons are keeping a discreet eye on the couple. Pitt's persistence and high-flying naivete drive the opening plot of "The Persian Bride" with an especial sweetness, winning the heart of Shirin. John Pitt and Shirin Farameh begin to live as amn and wife at an apex of time that can only grow more dangerous.
The character of Shirin Farameh, the self-same bride is a complicated, rich character. She shows us the unique mettle of Iranian women who adhere to custom while embracing the inevitabilities of modern life. After the elopement, there is inevitable separation wrought by revolution and the thin survival of wrenching upheaval. The amazing romantic undercurrent signified by John and Shirin makes this story palpate.
"The Persian Bride" also offers a painful look at the great unloosening of Iranian society as the ancient regime totters and mullahs take power. "Pitt" maintains his western orientation to the point of peril but he also develops strong sympathies for Persian language and culture. His study of Iranian poetry as a means to apprehend his enigmatic wife is an especially artful aspect of the book.
Buchan's prose is nuanced and mature, not in the least sensationalistic. While the "Persian Bride" is not a thriller per se, the story occurs in what rapidly becomes an excruciating place for Europeans. "Pitt" spends some truly frightening moments in Evin Prison during the hostage crisis (and beyond) where he is interrogated as a spy. It is here that we glimpse the heart-rending beauty of Persian mores and manners, as he coexists with doomed immates who are the scapegoats of the revolutionary regime. Pitt obtains release from prison by volunteering for the Iraqi war front in a desperate attempt to leave prison and search for his family. Despite heartbreaking setbacks, John Pitt never gives up. The haunting emotional context of John and Shirin's romance is the strength of this book.
I highly, highly recommend this book. I hope to see more writing by the author.
Enormous disappointment.......2004-07-15
I'm told this book was "hailed as a masterpiece in Britain" and that it has been compared to Doctor Zhivago, so it sounded like a wonderful reading experience. However, I have to agree with others here who said they found it to be unreadable. Buchan does a poor job of clearly describing much of anything. The prose is disjointed and confusing and the story jumps around in time and location without adequately explaining any one of those times or locations. It is almost unheard of for me to quit reading a book before finishing it, but I gave up on this one very early on because it utterly failed to grab me on any level. There are some truly great works of fiction out there that will capture you and hold you from cover to cover. Unfortunately this is not even close to being one of them.
A Brilliant Tale Of Iranian Politics & Persian Romance.......2003-06-09
This is one of the most beautifully written books I have read in a long time. I found myself marking passages in the prose, so I could return to them later and savor them at leisure, without a rapidly moving plot to deter me. It is also a difficult book to read. As with much good literature, it is necessary to concentrate and read every word. This is not a novel that can be skimmed, or speed read. It is definitely not a light read. Filled with symbolism, and allusions to Iranian culture, the Farsi language, ancient poets and older cities, it is the love story of one couple, and the story of a nation in political, cultural and social upheaval. If you read carefully, with patience, the story will unfold for you like a beautiful Isfahani rose.
A young Englishman goes to Iran in the mid-1970s. Many young American and European "hippies" passed through that country, beginning in the late 1960s and continuing through until before the revolution in 1979. Iran was on the way to India, the destination point of many young westerners. The Beatles and other pop stars had made India a mecca for the young with its gurus, cheap drugs, native music, mysticism, etc.. And Persia was a romantic place stop on the way - with its exquisite, impressive countryside, hospitable people, and romantic, gracious and exotic culture. So, John Pitt finds himself in Isfahan, a fairytale of a city. There he meets the enchanting Shrin Farameh. They love. They run away and marry. They struggle to combine cultures and language and to make a world for themselves amidst the chaos and political nightmare that is pre-revolution Iran. Their marriage also carries with it tremendous political & personal consequences. But I won't go there now and spoil one of the more enticing aspects of the plot. Suffice it to say, that the couple is violently & tragically separated. Following the separation, comes suffering that could read like a chapter out of Job. But John is never deterred from his mission to reunite with his wife and the daughter he barely had time to know.
I lived in Iran from 1965 until 1968, and "The Persian Bride" brought so much of my experience back to me. It is a jewel of a novel - a masterpiece!
Average customer rating:
|
PERSIAN BRIDES
Manufacturer: George Braziller
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GQUJW2 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on June 22, 1998. The length of the article is 1493 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Persian brides. (fiction)(excerpt)
Author: Dorit Rabinyan
Publication:
World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1998
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: v72
Issue: n3
Page: p531(2)
Article Type: Excerpt
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Product Description
The Bride` s Hotel is the story of two women who set out for a
faraway township with their manager for office mission. There,
the manager with abusing of her situation, persuades always
women from the position to worse position and move from the
room to poorer than room, until at last, he wants to molest
them and with suggestion of a short time marriage, wants to
place them in her room. Women show a reaction against
manager and this reaction leds to the surrender of one of the
women and the disobedience of another and finally, hotel
catchs fire.
This play was awarded the best prize of script
writing of the first woman` s Theater Festival in
Iran. It was staged in the INTERNATIONAL FADJR
THEATRE FESTIVALS in 2000. Then was staged for
one month at City Theater
Average customer rating:
|
Persian Brides
Dorit rabinyan
Manufacturer: George Braziller
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MHQEUQ |
Book Description
The Stunning Conclusion of In Fire Forged, A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2003
The island nation of Sileria lies in the shadow of Darshon, the Destroyer Goddess, the great volcano that dominates the landscape and people of Sileria. When she awakens, their world trembles. She has lain quiet for decades, throughout the occupation of foreign invaders.
But Darshon has begun to stir.
Sileria has finally been freed from foreign rule, only to fall under the power of the ruthless waterlords, powerful mages who terrorize those who depend on their mercy for the water that all life must have.
Now their mercy is denied.
Tansen, the rebel warrior, joins forces with Mirabar, a Guardian who is feared and admired for her fire magic, and Zarien, a mysterious sea-born boy, in a stand against the waterlords rule.
As the power struggle among Sileria's warring factions intensifies to a fevered pitch, the tremors of Darshon increase, threatening to engulf them all in molten death. There will be a final reckoning that will change Sileria forever. But no one may triumph unless the Destroyer Goddess wills it . . .
Customer Reviews:
Really something.......2007-04-04
"The Destroyer Goddess" the last in the wonderful trilogy by Laura Resnick actually does what few last fantasy books accomplish-it wraps up the series nicely and answers all the questions the previous books posed. I will be brief in this review as I have not in those I wrote for the previous two books, because basically, if you finished the second book, nothing will stop you from reading this one, so here is basically some of what happens in this book.
Mirabar does in fact marry the insane Waterlord Baran, but only after she and Tansen have admitted they love each other. Tansen is understandably pissed, but understands the duty and destiny aspect of the whole situation.
We find out why exactly Baran and Kiloran hate each other so much.
We learn about Zarien's biological parents, and his true destiny. His relationship with Tansen, as his new blood son continues to mirror Tansen's with his own blood father in that Zarien somehow wants Tansen to be a different man (of course of all of this, and the father/son Tansen/Armien, Tansen/Zarien stuff in this book in the last are clearly leading to something big.)
Tansen continues on his quest to rid the country of Waterlords.
The Volcano Goddess continues to throw increasing tantrums and visions in the sky continue and pilgrims head to Dar's Volcano in religious fervor waiting for something.
Mirabar attempts to get pregnant while trying to find the new leader of the country-who will also be a child.
Cheylan acts very evil
.
Kiloran acts very evil.
Elelar does very surprising things.
Ronall and Najdan debate the pros and cons of Tansen beating his son.
And the sea king is found.
All in all, I just love this book. In spite of the difficulties a marriage to another man brings to our romantic couple, this is a romantic novel. Its also surprising, funny and like all the books in the series has the completely charming characters, in life or death situations, often just losing it and arguing about really stupid things, which is just so normal that it makes it feel real.
And the ending is something. Really something. I only wish the author would finally return to this world with more books. I know she intended to explore the other countries of the "world" in some books, but personally I'd be happy with more of this particular little Island nation.
Five stars.
Rousing Finish!.......2007-03-28
A rousing finish to what I now think is one of my favorite fantasy series. This book provide a satisfying conclusion to the many subplots in the story. I am quite impressed with Ms. Resnick's storytelling ability and her writing style. The plotting and character development were outstanding, but what I liked most of all was the witty dialogue and often realistic-sounding exchanges between father-son, lovers, friends, etc. My only minor quibble is that the book uses the term "dryly" a bit too much when describing dialogue. It was dry and witty, but there was no need to point this out all the time!
All-in-all, very nicely done.
Great start limps to conclusion.......2005-07-28
I reviewed the first book on this site and had great hope for Laura Resnick but commented on her lack of character development.
The last two books that could have just as easily been one volume if they had done some serious editing, did not correct that first volume deficiency.
It could be a great movie if all three volumes are used as a single script but they will still have to hire a screen writer with character building expertise.
Best book in a very nice series.......2004-03-05
The Valdani have finally left Sileria after hundreds of years of occupation but now the water lords, led by their powerful chief Kiloran, intend to take over. Their rule, should they be successful, will be far harsher and far more complete than anything the Valdani dreamed of. And all that stands in their way are a handful of guardians (fire mages) and Tansen--a great warrior to be sure, but hardly a cult leader like his brother, now killed by Kiloran. Things only get worse for Tansen when the great fire-mage and prophet, Mirabar--the woman he loves despite her cruelty to him--decides to marry a crazy waterlord. They need dissension among the waterlords, but Tansen hates the idea that any man but he will touch Mirabar.
Tansen, along with his adopted son, do their best to stir up troubles among the waterlords, playing them off against each other. But the prophecies require children to be born for real freedom--and Kiloran's assassins are doing their best to kill any of the likely candidates.
Author Laura Resnick has created a fascinating magical world. Tansen and the half-Valdani lord Ronall, in particular, come to life as flawed but fascinating characters. The magic system with its battles between water and fire magic is fully developed and very nice. Resnick's word pictures of the water magic are especially powerful.
THE DESTROYER GODDESS is the strongest of the three novels in this series. The plot is more tightly integrated as the characters come together for the resolution of the centuries-old struggle between fire and water, between the Society and the Guardians, and between the peasants and the sea. Even the gods come ito play in this one.
The novel could be read as a stand-alone but readers will find it more interesting if they read the three novels in the order they were written.
Great Conclusion to a Great Series.......2004-01-17
This is the third book of the series In Legend Born. I've waited for this book for 3+ years and although I have forgotten some of the minor characters (such as Jalilar) this book is a very memorable conclusion of the series. It has many plot twists, many of which are predictable (but I don't read a story for the twists, i read it for the story) and has very full characterizations of the main characters. The war against the Waterlords are also occasionally analyzed in a big-picture objective, omnipresent view which helps with clarifying what has been happening. My biggest gripe with the book is that it gives us no sense of how much time has passed, and when it does [fastforward through time], time passes so fast, that u wish it had more details so that there would be more to read. However it does not demerit it enough to a 4. All in all this is a high-quality political, magical and adventure fantasy book with strong themes (which i didn't feel like covering) and highly recommended
Average customer rating:
- I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X
- smart, witty book
- I Left My Sneakers In Demension X
- Very creative book!
- Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
|
I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X: A Rod Allbright Alien Adventure
Bruce Coville
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Action & Adventure
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
| Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Action & Adventure
| Literature
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Literature
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
| Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror
| Literature
| Children's Books
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Aliens Ate My Homework (Alien Adventures)
-
Aliens Stole My Body: Bruce Coville's Alien Adventures
-
The Search for Snout
-
My Teacher Flunked the Planet (My Teacher)
-
My Teacher Glows in the Dark (My Teacher Books)
ASIN: 0671798332 |
Customer Reviews:
I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X.......2007-05-14
ISBN 0671798332 - The Covilles do it again. Every time I pick up a book with this pair's names on it, my expectations are not high - they always make me regret my assumptions!
Rod Allbright's summer is off to a terrible start: his cousin Elspeth is being dumped on them because her parents want to "get away". Obviously, they want to get away from Elspeth, who is quick with a negative word on every subject and every person she meets. Desperate to get away from her, too, Rod tells his mother he's going for a walk. Of course, his mother makes him take along Elspeth. Out of spite, since he's basically forced to take her, he wears his new sneakers despite the fact that he knows his mother doesn't want him to.
In the field behind the house, everything takes a sudden turn. The kids fall into a huge footprint, which is scary enough. It gets scarier when the foot that made it comes back - and the owner of that foot kidnaps the cousins! Taken to Dimension X to be used as bait for Grakkar, the commander of the Ferkel, and his crew, Rod and Elspeth have to work together to survive until rescue arrives. When it does, trouble really begins. Their kidnapper, Smorkus Flinders, has far bigger plans than they could ever have imagined and he must be stopped.
This is the second book in the series (the first was Aliens Ate My Homework), but it's not 100% necessary to have read the first one. It might help, since the story DOES refer to the previous tale, but it is possible to read this one without ever having read the first. Of course, the cliffhanger in this one is destined to have you looking for the next one!
I liked the references to Dr Suess (Thing One and Thing Two) and the classic The Sound of Music. It had me reading closer than usual to find other hidden gems. Probably the best part of the book is the lesson Rod learns about why Elspeth is the way she is - and it isn't because she's just a rotten person.
smart, witty book.......2006-05-05
Have you ever been transported to another dimension? Do you know what it feels like to be shoved into a forty foot monsters ear and eat kispa-dinka evernight? If not, then i suggest you read this book to find out more about this crazy life. During his adventures, Rod and his bratty cousin elspet are captured by smorkus flinders, a giant alien seeking revenge on Rods alien friends. When rod is reunited with his friends in dimension X, they face a whole new problem. How to get out. Throughout their encounters they meet up with crazy shapeshifters, a ting wongovia, and many other strange things. In the end Rod is enlarged and put up in a battle againse Smorkus Flinders and wins. He then finds out that the reason his dad had left them is because he was an alien. This book is a very good book, but an easy read. it is wild, wacky , and witty. it is well written and should be enjoyed by children of all ages.
The first thing i liked about this book was the overall obscurity and wackiness of the settings and characters. I mean, really, whos ever heard of a ting wongovia? It was characters like these that brought the imaginative aspect to the book. This book really provokes your mind to really think about what some of the things might look like and what it must be like to live there. This as a whole is what makes this book intersting.
Another thing that pleased me while reading this book was the vocabulary that was used to describe the scenes shown. While the settings were vivid, the vocabulary really helped bring alot of the settings to life almost.For example, the author used almost child-like vocabulary to describe this part of dimension X: "The sky looked like boiling purple water, the ground like a pot of overcooked macaroni." Sentences like these are peppered throughout the book, and really bring it to life.
The third and final thing that amused me about this book is the sheer simplicity, but also very complex plotline to the story. The book goes from very high points to very low points, and ends with a wonderful climax and a resolution with a big twist. This book is an easy read, so i dont reccomend it highly for adults, but the average high elementary through middle school age will enjoy its childish charm.
Overall, "I Left My Sneakers In Dimension X" by Bruce Coville is an intersting read, full of surprises, wackiness, and over cooked macaroni. This book should be enjoyed by children of all ages.
I Left My Sneakers In Demension X.......2006-05-02
I thought this book was very adventurous. All of the characters had their own great personality and unique look. The settings changed through-out the book. All places were mysterious and you never knew what wierd thing would happen to the characters! There were many main characters of the book. The most important character was Rod. All of the CRAZY events happend to either Rod or his little cousin Elspeth. Even if these two kids don't get along....they still get through this scary time together. Since Elspeth is pain (according to Rod), Rod learns that Elspeth can be nice. Also, Rod gets...oh yea, can't tell you!! Do you want to know what happens next? Read the book I Left My Sneakers In Demension X!!! It was a thriller!!!!!~Kerry:-)
Very creative book!.......2005-07-01
This is a wonderful book.When I first read it I enjoyed it so much that I read it again.Rod Allbright travels to another dimension in I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X.In this book Bruce Coville once again blew me away with his creativity.I cant wait to read more of Bruce Coville`s funny and exciting science fiction books.
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher.......2005-04-01
A fine book. Very well written. A little less humorous than the Rod Allbright Alien Adventure Series, but that did not ruin the book. A perfect read for 4-6 grade. I was enthralled by the way Coville created a group of great characters, each with a distinctive personality, and each easy to love-or hate.
Customer Reviews:
Not My Favorite.......2006-06-19
I love the Dalai Lama's writing, have read quite a few of his books. I think that there are some insights here, but didn't come away from it as inspired from other writings.
The chapters are organized into subject categories. So, if you use it as a meditation guide you'll be meditating on "living a life of plenty" or "prison and prisoners" for a few days at least.
I didn't find this as useful as 365 Tao (which I've used regularly) by Deng Ming-Dao. I felt 365 Tao provided different ways to approach each topic, you could choose your meditation.
365 Dalai Lama is something that you can read through, and think about the topics. I wasn't motivated to meditate on them. The one thing that I didn't like about it was the fact that some topics went on for days and days. I didn't necessarily feel I wanted to meditate on pessimism for 13 days, a day of thought about a topic provides me conscious investigation. Revisiting it helps bring up subconscious learning later.
But banging my head against a topic for days and days wasn't an enjoyable task. For a monk maybe, eating rice every day. I rather enjoy the variety of reflection on different topics daily however. That quality made the book spartan, somewhat bland.
Maybe it was just me, but I'd probably get his lectures, or expanded treatises on topics (i.e. The Art of Happiness) instead - I think this is where his thought processes, reasoning, and ability to convince you about quality of life choices shine.
Top-notch, if you are into this sort of thing.......2004-03-18
This book is a compilation of quotations from the Dalai Lama (spiritual leader of Tibet). It is not an essay or story, though the quotes are loosely grouped by category.
The quotations are written simply and directly, and contain a great degree of insight into the human emotions and the human spirit.
It serves as an excellent daily inspiration for living or meditation.
Books:
- Physics of Sunset
- Queen & Country, Vol. 7: Operation Saddlebag
- Rembrandt's Jews
- Rhinestone Cowboy: An Autobiography
- SANTA & PETE: A Novel of Christmas Present and Past
- Sapphire's Grave
- Shuttlecock
- Sincerely Yours (True 2 Life Street)
- Six Days in Marapore: A Novel
- Snowball's Chance
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The 21st Century Agent
- History: Fiction or Science
- A Tale of three Kings: A Study in Brokenness
- Chief of Station, Congo: Fighting the Cold War in a Hot Zone
- Dennis Hopper: A System of Moments
- Love in the Time of Cholera
- Environmental Impact of the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry
- Employee Benefits in Canada
- Assertiveness: Industrial Society
- Origins of Macroeconomics, Volume Two
Strand of a Thousand Pearls: A Novel
Human Parts (Verba Mundi,)
Apples from the Desert: Selected Stories (The Helen Rose Scheuer Jewish Women's Series)
Our Weddings
The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God & Other Stories
